Musalli Al-Muammar, the former president of Al-Nassr Club, revealed the behind-the-scenes story of completing one of the biggest deals in football history: signing the Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo in December 2022, after he terminated his contract with Manchester United. This deal, which captured global media attention, was not a spontaneous decision but went through several stages, starting with an internal proposal and culminating in a comprehensive national project that convinced one of the world's top stars to come to the Kingdom.

Al Muammar explained, during his interview with Al Arabiya channel, that the initial spark came from a suggestion by the golden member Khalid bin Fahd following Ronaldo's absence from Manchester United's training camp.

He added that he began exploring the possibility of signing a contract, despite having received information that the player had previously rejected an offer, before Mohamed Al-Khuriji confirmed his readiness to communicate with the famous agent Jorge Mendes to reopen negotiations.

The former Al-Nassr president pointed out that he traveled with Al-Khuraiji to Manchester in an attempt to meet Ronaldo, but the circumstances did not allow it. As tensions rose between the player and his coach Erik ten Hag, the situation began to change.

Al-Nassr's management was able to reach Ronaldo through a family member, arranging a meeting in Lisbon that took place under the direct supervision of the Minister of Sports, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, who played a pivotal role in driving the negotiations to success.

Al Muammar added that another meeting was held in Qatar, where Ronaldo spoke with the Minister of Sports and was reassured about the nature of the sports project he would become part of, which strengthened his conviction to join the Saudi league.

In the final hours before signing, Saad Al-Lazeez entered the negotiation process, especially since Ronaldo signed two contracts: the first with Al-Nassr Club, and the second with the Professional League Association as part of a comprehensive developmental vision.

Al Muammar concluded his speech by emphasizing that Ronaldo is a major pillar in the Saudi sports project, stressing that the Roshn League would lose much of its shine if the Portuguese star were absent.